Episode: The Wisdom of Job Part 2: Where on Earth is "Uz"?

In this episode, Tim and Jon continue their discussion on Job. How exactly does Job fit in with the other wisdom book of the Bible? It’s kind of a weird book. Job takes place in Uz, a non-Israelite town, and it features non-Israelite people. It seems out of place, but it’s also a book that other biblical authors refer to throughout Scripture. We have to wonder about the differences between Job and the other books of the Bible. Is Job a literal account, or is it a wisdom parable that is intentionally fiction?
In the first part of the episode (02:14-09:42), the guys talk about the first two chapters of Job. In this section, God’s justice is questioned, but the story is not trying to teach about the origins of human suffering. The guys try to get at what this first part may be trying to teach us.

In the second part of the episode (09:57-22:50), Tim and Jon talk about the heavenly scene in Job and discuss why the author chose to include it. The point of the heavenly scene isn’t to tell us how God makes decisions. It asks the question of whether or not it is a good policy for God to always reward the righteous.

In the next part of the episode (23:09-26:57), the guys break down the structure of the book, specifically chapters three through twenty-seven. These chapters are the poetic core of the book called “the cycles.”

In the final part of this episode (27:12-41:30), the guys spend some time discussing Job’s friends. His friends are working within a human framework that says that God rewards the righteous and brings wrath upon sinners, yet Job continues to defend his innocence throughout the book. What is really going on here?

Video:
This episode is designed to accompany our video on the book of Job. You can view it on our youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GswSg2ohqmA